Is there a better word than "header" to indicate the top of a site?

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Is there a better word than "header" to indicate the top of a site?

People get confused between "headers" and start adding code

digitalv

12:05 pm on Oct 17, 2009 (gmt 0)

In a proprietary content management system I developed, users have the option of specifying universal header and footer content that will appear at the top and bottom of every page.

This is fine for novice users - the problem is when actual webmasters use the system, they edit the universal header file and start putting in HTML code (<html><head><title>, CSS, META info, etc...)... this isn't necessary since the system automatically does this part and the "header and footer" includes are really just a way to add content across the top and bottom of the pages.

So ... is there a better word than "header" that indicates a "top include", that both webmasters and novices will understand, without having to explain it the way I just did above?

rocknbil

6:51 pm on Oct 17, 2009 (gmt 0)

To answer the question . . . I would specify page header with a help link that instructs not to include <head></head> information. I don't know that it will help much though, it still means the user has to read and understand what you mean.

You should probably implement something that filters out any conflicting code on input, that is, strip out doctype, opening/closing heads, etc . . . . if users are messing it up, they will continue to, regardless of what messages you give them.

However, I'm working with a system precisely like this for a client and it's maddening.

What if your client requires a different doctype for whatever reason? What if they actually need to mess with the html header for reasons you may not think are important? What if we want to externalize our CSS in a special way that, for whatever reason, is not supported by your system? This is the situation I am in with a CMS, and the CMS needs to stay in place for the actual client.

You might consider setting up a "basic" and "advanced" mode so that developers can access the full header. More likely than not, however, your problem users are not all that advanced, they are possibly just pasting from Dreamweaver or something. An "advanced" developer would know what they are doing wrong.

tangor

7:55 pm on Oct 17, 2009 (gmt 0)

In the old days we called it a "masthead". :)

maximillianos

2:15 pm on Oct 18, 2009 (gmt 0)

I like "page header" as rocknbil suggested. It is a common term used in word processing, that most folks are familiar with.